Entertain Me: Lumineers’ accordion player steals show, my heart

By The Beacon | September 26, 2013 12:47am
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By Kelsey Thomas |

Letsbehonest – about a third of our school was at The Lumineers concert Sunday. Another half resides somewhere between occasional listener and avid fan. I’d tell you the rest of the students’ relation to The Lumineers, but I have zero desire to calculate that percentage because, hello – English major here.

The point is, we all know The Lumineers are great. Their sultry melodies sound even better live and their classy gold chandeliers and suspenders always win me over.

What we, or at least I, didn’t know is the amazing force of musical nature that is Stelth Ulvang who joined The Lumineers last year.

Here are 10 reasons Ulvang is deserving of our ardent admiration:

·      His name is Stelth.

·      His shaggy hair lends itself quite well to piano-playing-head-bobbing.

·      When all his hands are occupied, his foot joins in on the piano-playing fun. While it tends to hit a few extra keys and not sound quite as nice, his flexibility is impressive.

·      He can play the piano while taking off his sweater. I still have no idea how that happened.

·      He plays the accordion brilliantly.

·      He plays the accordion brilliantly while strolling through adoring fans in the mosh pit.

·      He plays the accordion brilliantly while casually climbing over walls, much to the stress of the ushers trying to rush after him with flashlights to keep him from tripping.

·      He plays the accordion brilliantly while casually taking selfies with fans.

·      He plays the accordion brilliantly while standing on top of the gold piano.

·      And then he plays the mandolin.

So next time The Lumineers are in town, you should absolutely go. Go for the chandeliers. Go for the soulful sounds that make you want to think really hard about something deep. Go to jump around singing “Hey! Ho!” while a couple older than your parents decides to have an uncomfortably intimate moment mere inches away from you. Actually, avoid that if you can. But most of all, go to see the virtuosity that is Stelth Ulvang.

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